Sciatic Nerve Pain

Archive for the ‘lower back pain’ Category

“Oh, my aching back!” How many times have you exclaimed that at work after an eight hour day? Maybe you work a cubicle job that requires you to remain in one spot, practically immobile, with little opportunity for exercise. Or, maybe your job is more blue collar and requires heavy lifting and constant movement. Whatever the task, all workers may have one thing in common in a bad back if nothing is done to treat the pain and discomfort. Alternating pressure relief is one such method.

What causes back pain?

Back pain is a condition that has no one set cause, yet for all the people who suffer this minor ailment there is a common thread unites the masses: poor blood circulation. For joint and muscles to work properly, blood flow must be constant and uninterrupted. Prolonged inactivity, certain sitting positions, a poor diet and genetic disorders may contribute to slowed circulation, which in turn limits to the blood supply to certain parts of the body. When there is no blood to keep the body healthy, the starving parts will experience various symptoms, which may include skin discoloration, a tingling or numb sensation, and/or pain.

People who experience regular back pain may do so as a result of their work or lifestyle. For a worker who must sit for eight to ten hours a day in front of a computer, there is the increased possibility of discomfort. Prolonged sitting may reduce circulation to the lower part of the spine and the legs. Try crossing your legs or pinning a foot under a chair for a long time. If you feel a tingling or “thick” sensation in the limb, it means the blood isn’t flowing properly throughout the body. To be immobile in such a position for hours at a time can contribute to back discomfort.

How to ease back pain with alternating pressure

It is helpful periodically to get out of the chair, stretch and enjoy a short walk around the office or to lunch. Moving the body moves the blood, and as you breathe deep and oxygenate the blood you may find a boost of natural energy to help through the rest of the work day.

Of course, there is the rest of the work day to consider. One cannot get much done walking around the office, so it is important maintain good circulation while sitting. A seat cushion using alternating pressure technology may be helpful in this respect.

Alternating pressure refers to a device that inflates and deflates in sections. Think of an air mattress or air seat cushion. As one pocket, the air is stagnant and does not move. When you sit on one, it may feel like sitting on an elevated version of the chair. Circulation remains the same.

Alternating pressure, however, works in a cushion devised of two or more air bladders interconnected to alternate inflating and deflating. Some bladders rise while others fall, and vice versa. This constant movement in a cushion lifts and shifts the body in place, so even though one is sitting there is opportunity for better circulation.

Where there is better blood flow, naturally, there is less discomfort. The technology of alternating pressure is not exactly new, as it has been used in hospitals to treat patients with bed sores. This is because alternating pressure keeps the blood moving and the skin healthy, allowing it to breathe.

For the worker who must commit to eight hours in a chair, an alternating pressure seat cushion is a good suggestion for back health and ease. Complaints of an aching back may reduce as well.

Kathryn Lively
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/alternating-pressure-for-back-pain-relief-90798.html

If it is an emphatic yes for swimming to cure the back pain, it is a strong no to the cycling, unfortunately. Millions of children and youth all over the world may not like this observation, but facts are facts.

Cycling done for long hours, contributes to many types of bodily imbalances, and may aggravate your back pain. However, cycling done for short durations may not do any major damage. It should be treated as just one of those exercises.

It is generally believed that cycling is one of the best methods to control and improve your overall fitness. While you do cycling, you get exercise to every part of your body. As you peddle, it is a good breathing exercise as well, provided you do it properly. But cycling has some disadvantages, especially if you have back pain. Cycling activity may not be possible at all, in case of acute back pain.

Cycling leads you to muscular imbalances. You may get chronic pain in certain parts of your body. It can never help you control your back pain.

Examine your riding posture on the cycle. Let’s start from the feet and then move up to the head.

Pedaling is a strenuous job, and it puts lots of stress on your calves. Tight calves mean your feet will flatten with lots of stress on the heel cord, knees and planter fascia. The major stress bearing muscles in cycling are the quadriceps.

Lots of cycling and the bent over cycling position is the cause of tightness in the quadriceps and the psoas (hip flexors). Now, you know the most damaging aspect of this position while cycling

Pelvis moves out of the optimal position and goes for a forward tilt. This is the beginning of the muscle imbalance. This is also the starting point of the strain of the lower back. There is lots of strain on the abdominals also. The hamstrings get overworked as you peddle forward, and they become tight.

The shoulders and the mid back have to bear the brunt. As you cycle your back is rounded and you with the back pain try to continue in a very difficult position. The shoulders are hiked up and pulled forward and you can well imagine the impact of it, if you continue cycling for longer duration.

The back pain will make you get down from the cycle automatically. If you still persist, neck tension and pain are guaranteed.

So, cycling can cause certain serious imbalances to your existing state of back pain. Why think of this exercise now? Postpone it for a future date, when you are completely cured form all sorts of back pain. Wait for some months!

Latest and better models of cycles are arriving in the market and they need your solid

‘back’ing!

Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/how-cycling-and-back-pain-are-related-55414.html

Every year, many Americans are faced with the problem of lower back pain. It is usually caused by some type of accident, whether recreational or work related, though sometimes back injuries can occur just by overdoing it for a few short hours. For some unknown reason, our bodies sometimes stop working. If this is true for you, then you may want to look at some other causes such as fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, menopause, or arthritis.

As we get older, the strength in our bones and our muscle flexibility will decrease. That’s just nature. In our skeletons, the amount of fluid and flexibility near our discs lessens, and therefore we cannot recover from daily activities the way we used to. A ruptured or herniated disc can be caused by something as simple as muscle pain from lifting something. A movement resulting in flattened nerve endings will usually become apparent with lower back pain indications.

Lower back pain can be caused by something as natural as deterioration of our muscles, nerves, and bones. In this way, your body can be compared to a machine. There are body parts that will need to be replaced or altered to be able to keep it running normally throughout the years. Fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, arthritis, viruses, being overweight, and built up scar tissue can all take a toll on our bodies, just as the most gigantic and powerful mountains can be made weaker due to erosion.

If you have lower back pain, you need to try and get up, as staying in bed is not the best thing to do. A study done in Finland in 1996 shows that people with back pain who performed their regular daily duties did better than those who stayed in bed. You can help your muscles and help to relieve the pain if you try Yoga. If you cannot move there are medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen, ointments, antidepressants, and narcotic drugs that could possibly help you. Painkillers can be addictive, so make sure you take them only as a last resort!

Robert Covillien
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/when-your-lower-back-starts-to-hurt-755976.html

Back pain has come to affect the world in a big way. These days every other person complains about back pain. The hectic modern day life is taking its toll. An increasing number of people in the world have had to lose work time due to back pain.

Among the Americans below 45 years of age, back pain has become the most common cause for a visit to the doctor. The recovery does not take more than a week or so but the back pain gradually starts rising in many cases. The yearly economic price of back pain problem that the US is paying has been estimated at around $75 billion.

However, back pain is not something insurmountable and can be taken care of if one took due precautions. There are a few things than one could do to reduce one’s chances of suffering from back pain.

Among the most essential things is a reduction in body weight. So, if you are lugging a few extra pounds, it could put undue load on your spine and become a reason for back pain in the long run. Start as balanced diet program and take to regular physical exercise. The extra weight would soon go away.

Another thing that you can do is strengthen the core muscles around your spine, which include lower back muscles, abdomen and thigh muscles.

Incorporate stretching exercises in your exercise regimen. Stretching exercises improve one’s flexibility, which prevents sudden injuries. Hamstrings and muscles in the lower back must be paid special attention to in this regard.

Wrong posture has been found to be a major cause of back pain. Therefore, working on one’s posture helps prevent back pain to a great extent. So, stop slouching and stooping and while you are sitting, sit with your back straight.

Improve your lifting technique in order to prevent injury. Do not just stoop and lift the object. Go down, squat by the object, hug it close to your body and come up on your feet. That’s the best way to lift the object. Even if the object is not all that heavy, use the right way to lift because even relatively lightweight objects have been found to injure the back if and when lifted improperly.

In addition to the above, do stick to a regular exercise regimen. Regular physical exercise is your best defense against back pain. So, do not overlook its importance even if you run a packed schedule. It pays to invest a little time oneself.

Ashish Jain
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/how-to-avoid-back-pain-129452.html

Studies have found out the more then 30% people suffer from chronic back pain in the United States. Back pain is a health condition and this needs to be cured in time or it can lead to complications. In today’s world people are more conscious about their health and they are adopting various means to get rid of any problems that they may be having. One of the major reasons for chronic back pain is improper sitting posture in office or just anywhere. To get rid of this problem one can use lumber back support chair in offices and other places including your car. Well sitting in your car must also be comfortable for you especially when you have to commute long distances for work or some other purpose.

A firm support like lumber back support in chairs have been found to be an effective means for curing chronic back pain or any other type of back pain. The lumber back support helps the spine and neck align correctly so that the degree of stress and fatigue is drastically reduced on the person who is sitting. It has been found that a person who does not sit with proper lumber back support or for that matter back support of any other kind has 3 times more strain on the lower back then when the person is standing. This is the reason why sitting for a long time has become more strenuous.

This happens because the human body has not been designed to sit for longer period. However, in present time lifestyle of most people is such that they have to sit for longer time. This has led to increasing number of people reporting to be suffering from chronic back pain. The market for health care is increasing rapidly and more and more people are wiling to use different methods and equipments to treat any condition that they may be suffering from. Normally when we have to sit for a long time, we tend to shift the sitting positions so that one portion of the body does not get strained.

You can buy lumber back support chair from the market and us this in your office and car. The chair must have lumber back support and this should be adjusted according to your height. Ideally the lumber support in the back chair is put at that portion of the chair which supports the lower back. There are also special cushions or rolls that you can place in your chair to support your back when you have to sit for a long time. So the next time you buy chairs for your office make sure that you buy chairs that provide lumber back support to lessen the strain on your back.

Health is something which must not be neglected at any cost. So now when you know that lumber back support can actually help you in alleviating and getting rid of back problems, you must make sure that you have this in your chair. Your chronic back pain will lessened by the usage of this to a large extent.

Matt Hudson
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/lumbar-back-support-is-the-easiest-way-to-get-rid-of-back-pain-132745.html